This Saturday, July 16th , the 148th Annual AVMA Convention kicks off in St. Louis with a celebration of World Veterinary Year. St. Louis is special to me as it is the site of my very first public relations conference 30 years ago with a celebration under the Arch. It’s a great city.
This year, I will be at a different kind of celebration — one of the very few times I will be experiencing the conference from afar. I will miss seeing so many people until next month at the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor Homecoming Dinner and Investment Forum. The good news is that for the first time I and many others can receive the conference news online. I will still have many colleagues with ears to the ground to report back.
For those attending the conference, check out the new free MapIt APP to plan your schedule. There are so many interesting meetings and events to attend. For example, Ceva is offering veterinarians and other AVMA attendee a flea & tick information session and free lunch from noon to 2:00 PM today, Saturday July 16th. Speakers include Dr. Phillip McKinney, Dr. Mike Paul and Dr. Mark Setser with moderator Dr. Jim Humphries.
Speaking of another celebration, it’s Christmas in July as we offer congratulations again to Shane Free of Los Angeles, our latest featured goodnewsforpets.com 10th Anniversary winner of an iPad and a matching $500 donation. Shane produced a fantastic holiday video celebrating the special bond with his cat Annie who has a kidney condition. Shane designated his matching donation to the Los Angeles Animal Services. Read more about Shane and Annie in his column.
To read more about when formalized veterinary medicine was founded and more pet questions answered, read our Pet IQ.
For those attending AVMA, have a great conference. I hope those of you who can’t enjoy reading about it. I hope to see many of you in Kansas City next month.